Sounds wonderful, Clary. I'll look it up on Google. Keep on posting!
We had another of those train rides, very long... but this time the aircon didn't work when we got in, and it was midafternoon and around 38 I'd guess, so I didn't enjoy it so much/ Worse was to come. There was a cool refreshing breeze at night as we went through the stunning Toros mountains, so we bunked down in our cosy bunks with the window open an inch or two, all our worldly goods on the convenient but strangely slatted table on the other side of the compartment.
Next morning I reached over to pick up a can of peach juice from the table. It nearly burnt me. The slats concealed a heater which had been belting out enormous heat all night = presumably the refreshing breeze was not what the Turks liked. So fierce was the heat that a plastic bag holding nuts and drinks had melted, my lipsticks had vaporized, and our passports had curled and were starting to lose the plastic lamination on the inside page. Then I checked my handy handbag. All my credit and debit cards had warped strangely. I went and showed the man supposed to be in charge of the sleeper carriage, and he just looked surprised but no more. Obviously stupid foreigners hadn't realised there would be a very hot entity in their compartment, silly them.
This was potentially very bad since I needed to extract money from an ATM and had no other means of getting it. Luckily, however, the second machine I tried accepted it, warp and all, so I got out piles of money and we taxi'd to Istanbul docks to get a boat. The timetable was no longer the summer one so we were faced with a 5 hour wait or a bus, and we took the bus option. The Istanbul Otogar = bus station = has to be seen to be believed. A gigantic circle with buses clustering on the outside of it like piglets to a sow, and each entrance serving a different private company. By some miracle we walked through no. 138 and it was TRUVA, the buses for Troy and the environs. Within minutes we were on one, a sleek, airconned, fast bus with free tea or juice, and a bun. Wonderful. We arrived at the little Dardanelles-side town of Eceabat 4 hours later and found the locally legendary TJ's hostel, where we secured a room for a proverbial song, and ate chicken while watching Peter Weir's film Gallipoli in preparation for today's trips. Before dawn we were on a ferry to the other side of the water, where we had a minibus take us to Troy and a magnificent guide to take us around the admittedly disappointing site - still 65% unexcavated and mostly just blocks of rock and crumbly pillars. Good if you had read the Iliad and could imagine the Trojans however. Now my indefatigable son is on the Battlefields of Gallipoli tour while I snoozed, read and generally chilled out as befits a lady of advancing years and ample girth. And lunched at a harbourside cafe on Iskender kebap - meat in a tomato sauce on bread served with delicious yogurt.
Tomorrow we leave again for an Aegean island, and then alas back to Istanbul and the flight home....
Gee, Clary, I'm surprised at what you are able to abide by to travel through those conditions. As I get older, my preference is for more cruising on boats where 1) I need pack and unpack only once, 2) sleep in a comfortable bed, 3) have bath facilities at hand, and 4) eat well. Although I may rough it in Guatemala and Costa Rica next February, I'll be on a river boat cruise on the Volga from Moscow to St Pete in May 2006. I do admire your adventurousness. I'd prolly do the same if I were as young.
As young as me you mean?!
Today we hıred a scooter on thıs beautıful Aegean ısland of Bozcaada (Tenedos ın Greek) and son Tam drove me around pıllıon - I lıke to push the envelope a bıt and not just have comfort to travel wıth!
Itis a perfect temperature though the sea ıs much colder than I lıke - maybe 15 degrees or so. But good beaches and what s more ın thıs predomınantly muslım country we have just been to shop for local wıne made on the ısland - got 2 bots of Troya 2002 for 4 pounds each - sadly cant carry more. Please excuse lack of apostrophes and ısö the keyboard ıs stıll a mystery...
C I when and where are you goıng ın Costa Rıca? I am stıll contemplatıng ıt but am goıng to Indıa ın Nov and need ıt to be rather cheap...
Costa Rica is a "cheap" destination. I'll be there from February 8 - 26, but includes a pretour of Guatemala.
Ha! I've finally found Clary's latest travel thread!
(Thanks for the PM.)
What is this reckless, unseemly carrying on in over-heated places, Clary? :wink: (Oh, I wish it was me!)
msolga, If you like over-heated places, please come join me in Guatemala and Costa Rica coming February. LOL
Right, ci! You're on! :wink:
I'll list our itinerary as soon as I get it.
Oh, do! I can't wait to find out more! :wink:
I can't go on like this, sometime I'm bound to run out of money!
Back home now for 2 days and then off to France !!
You have to go on like this, we enjoy it so much..
"I can't go on like this, sometime I'm bound to run out of money!
Back home now for 2 days and then off to France !!"
We'll continue to watch your hometown newspaper to see if there are any bank robberies while you are home. LOL
Shhhh, I didn't think they'd noticed!!
Waaaahhhh!
Well - does New Zeland count?
Clary wrote:I can't go on like this, sometime I'm bound to run out of money!
Back home now for 2 days and then off to France !!
Go, Clare!
I love it!
(Just keep reporting back here on your adventures, OK?
)
New Zealand counts, definitely.
I wish I could take you in my car to France, it wouldn't cost any more and it's just me, lonely, for most of the trip as companion has dropped out...
